Doing GHG Mitigation in the South - co-benefits from hands-on learning-by-doing experiences

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Doing GHG Mitigation in the South - co-benefits
from hands-on learning-by-doing experiences

• Panel Socio-economic aspects of mitigation
• Steve Thorne SouthSouthNorth Regional
  Co-ordinator Sub-Saharan Africa and Director
  Technological Receptivity
• SBSTA Plenary 23rd May 2005 Bonn

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Points of departure for CDM

• SD and CDM CDM is the first trading mechanism
  insisting on SD article 12 of KP assist Parties
  not included in Annex 1 in achieving SD and
  contributing to the ultimate objective of the
  Convention.
• SD Race to the bottom? Parties have by-and-large
  raced to the bottom in applying SD requirements
  through DNA (stringent SD should not be a barrier
  to FDI)?
• Low hanging fruit large quantities of low-cost
  emissions reductions from industrial chemicals
  and methane reduction crowding out high SD CO2
  projects.

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Doing GEF in the South

• SSN used maximum SD benefits as the starting
  point to maximise benefits to the South.
• The GEF mitigation projects in Africa
  by-and-large are renewable energy with some
  efficiency projects
• The projects with which we have experience all
  utilise solar energy for electricity or heat
• Providing small quantities of electricity changes
  QOL enormously
• Small amounts of electricity can be used to
  provide draft control in tobacco barns reducing
  impact on indigenous forest

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Experience limited to the front end of the cycle
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First project participant
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Bellville South Reduced landfill gas to industry
replacing LSO/HFO

124000 CO2 e tonnes/year
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Lessons from a landfill

• Public sector is slow to respond to
  opportunities, enable new institutions and
  procure services
• Public sector is not the right institution to
  trade credits
• Public waste management dept. is not used to
  receiving income
• People who live near landfills hate them and
  distrust any attempt to prolong their life
• Project architecture can increase SD benefits
  through designing local benefits into projects

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Institutional arrangements to max SD
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Socio-economic co-benefits of Bellville

• Landfills are low hanging fruit with large
  emissions reductions but few SD benefits
• Few jobs created
• Reduction in particulate emissions if replacing
  other fuels
• Odour reduction and leachate management
• With income from CDM plus gas sales city can
  comply with licensing requirements
• Could mean modernisation of landfills capping
  and gas management
• Using private funds saves on public funding of
  infrastructure that would otherwise tend to crowd
  out social spending

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Kuyasa low cost housing upgrades

Insulated ceilings, solar water heaters and CFLs
reduce electricity for services
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2.8 tonnes CO2/house/year

• 2.8 tonnes CO2e/house/year
• Total 6558 tonnes CO2e/year

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A community learns

• Lwandle installed 300 SWHs in hostels to homes
  project upgrade in 2001

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Facilitators learned

• Projects with many beneficiaries are process
  heavy but this capacity has security and
  ownership co-benefits
• CDM can be used to leverage funds for new energy
  services, new classes of energy service and
  poverty reduction (while it is a novelty) (high
  hanging fruit)
• CDM can avoid future emissions (current
  suppressed demand for energy services)

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Accounting for Suppressed Demand
An example of space heating in low income housing
Thermal power required to reach 21oC
Outdoor ambient winters day temperature profile
Thermal energy required without insulated ceilings
Suppressed demand for thermal energy
Thermal energy required in houses with insulated
ceiling
Current level of space heating
Morning Evening
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co-benefits of Kuyasa low cost housing upgrade

• Poverty reduction New services and energy
  savings
• Employment creation demand management increases
  employment prospects (500 plus person years for
  2309 upstream and installation) - more for
  maintenance
• Prices and risk use of renewable energy
  stabilises future fuel price and availability
  uncertainties
• Spill over large-scale procurement can drive
  economies-of-scale in price of technologies

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co-benefits of Kuyasa low cost housing upgrade

• Building on good practice The poor are efficient
  managers of energy services within the
  constraints of the fuel and appliances they have
  access to. The projects builds on this
• Replicability 1million new low-cost houses since
  1994 in SA most built without insulated
  ceilings or water heaters

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Mondi Richards Bay biomass project

Biomass replaces coal and methane avoided 122000
tonnes CO2e /year
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Socio-economic co-benefits of Mondi projects

• Prices and risk use of renewable energy
  stabilises future fuel price and availability
  uncertainties
• Cleaner practices CDM is leveraging cleaner
  practices
• Branding Mondi leads in SA and sees possibility
  to re-brand itself as linked to cleaner
  production practices
• Job creation SMME entrepreneurs jobs created in
  sourcing and delivery of biomass to plant
• Landfill longevity Landfill space freed up
  extending its life
• Replication Champion created within Mondi

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Doing CDM in the South

• CDM is not easy it requires specialists
• It results in no net emissions reductions
• It can result in a short term net increase of
  emissions
• CDM has very little to do with SD sadly
  unless
• Attracting FDI appears to be higher priority that
  SD
• CDM can leverage technology leapfrogging
• CDM can address poverty by improving
  affordability of energy services and creating
  employment on the demand side
• The uncertain lifespan already slowing interest,
  but is a good stick for speeding project
  development
• Possibilities exist for combined
  mitigation-adaptation projects in future

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Conclusions of experiences

• CDM and GEF GHG mitigation gives value to GHG
  mitigation
• TREC monetizes value of renewables
• Until SD given value in the market, benefits will
  remain incidental rather than sought after
• SD benefits could be granted monetized value
  through Gold Standard if a premium is paid
• CO2 projects may increase SD benefits in general
  perhaps argument for a premium for CO2 or
  decreased GWP of other GHGs

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Conclusions of experiences (cont.)

• SD remains merely a gate that may be shut if
  undesirable projects are promoted under CDM
• So can socio-economic benefits really be driven
  in the CDM? Yes, but there is a need for a
  mechanism that enables a sustainable development
  dividend